Month: September 2016

LFMI was named one of six finalists for this year’s Templeton Freedom Award for its textbook of economics – Economics in 31 Hours – that is giving the next generation of Lithuanian youth a fighting chance to get the economics right by teaching how property rights, free exchange, profit and competition shape decision-making in our everyday lives.

The EC’s decision to start an in-depth investigation into Poland’s tax on the retail sector is undoubtedly right as this additional tax imposed on large stores is unjustified and harmful. It should be up to a consumer’s individual choice where to go shopping.

We could say that populism is a natural effect of the lack of democratic accountability. If the promises and values which are at the heart of a democratic system seem to be broken by the established parties in power, here come the new movements, yelling against old politicians who betrayed their people, and promising to change the corrupted system, if they are elected.

Some could argue that May is just taking time to avoid the implementation of the referendum’s result, which is quite unlikely, since after all “Brexit means Brexit”, and that she will not call for another referendum because UK citizens already expressed their will, and the government will respect it.

There are so many question marks around the revenues coming from the careful obtaining of political information, that the voters will probably decide that it is not even worth it. And that they would rather go to a pub. From the economic point of view, it is an absolutely logical thing.

The government of Hungary spent the last few years informing the people with flyers, political surveys and billboards, that the “illegal immigration” is becoming a bigger problem day to day. During this process, lots of misleading or simply incorrect facts came out, not only abut the migrants, but even about the EU itself.

Backing out from NATO responsibilities could not only elicit the United States’ disapproval, but – among others – could also cause bad blood between Hungary and its presumed greatest ally, Poland, as it needs a strong NATO to countervail the power of Russia.

Since the victory of Fidesz-KDNP in the parliamentary elections of 2010, there were no successful political campaigns – not even those run by the governing parties. The only exception is the Two-Tailed Dog Party (Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt, MKKP), which is currently conducting its second poster campaign.

Ranked 20th in the 2016 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, Lithuania has outstripped its closest neighbours Latvia and Poland. Yet, possibilities of forging ahead as one of the most business-friendly economies are not fully exhausted.